Picker-stick check.



F e. COBB.

PICKER STICK-CHECK.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12. 19I8.

- 1 194,238 Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

iinrrnn srnrns ra'rninr orrron IF GORDON COBB, F GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

PICKER-STICK oHEdK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. ii, rain.

Continuation in part of application Serial No. 229,029, filed April 17, 1918. This application filed June 12,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F GORDON Gone, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Greenville, county of Greenville, State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Picker-Stick Checks, of which the following is a full and clear specification.

This invention has relation to that type of picker-stick checks in which an endless, flexible, leather or other band is arranged to encircle the path of the icker-stick and automatic means is provi ed to cause the band to intermittently creep or rotate to thus present new surfaces to the action of the picker-stick with each stroke, thereby greatly prolonging the life of the band. I-Ieretofore, this rotation or creeping of this band has been secured by intermittent grip devices which, in practice, have been found to soon wear sufficiently to get out of order, and these devices hav therefore, not come into continuous use.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application which has issued into Patent No. 1,277,863, dated September 3, 1918.

The object of my invention is to improve this type of picker-stick by so constructing it that the use of cams and similar devices is entirely avoided, thus rendering the device thoroughly practical, durable and very easy for the loom attendant to care for, the construction being such that what little wear there is comes entirely upon the band, so that by renewing the band at long intervals the check devices are maintained in an efficient condition as more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of a loom structure as is necessary to illustrate my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view onthe line 33 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrams hereinafter explained;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of one of the guide-hangers.

In the drawing, a designates the band, which is supported and guided in two guides A and B, the picker-stick C reciprocating as usual within the band and in a path parallel Serial No. 239,593.

to the guides. The guides are hung from the lay structure in any suitable manner.

Each of these guides consists of a vertical plate 6 whose ends 9 are turned outwardly to form a support for a frictionblock it which presses against the outer face of the band and forces it against the outer face of said guide plate, the means for thus frictionally forcing the block it against the band consisting, for instance, of a fiat spring i mounted on the ends of the arms 9 and carrying a pressure pin j bearing with a spring action against the outer face of the block it. The inner end of the pin 7' is desirably provided with a rounded head 7;; which bears against a leather insert Z in the friction block, and for the purpose of decreasing or increasing the friction upon the band at will, the pin 7' is threaded and provided with a pair of nuts on to clamp the spring v1.

The diameter of the loop or band being, as usual, shorter than the stroke of the pickerstick, the band will be bodily drawn back and forth as the picker-stick vibrates, the frictional drag (which is exerted equally at both sides by the two clamps) being suificient to noiselessly retard and check the stick. One of the plates 6 is longer than the other, so that lines drawn from edge to edge of the opposite guides will be at an oblique angle to the path of travel of the picker-stick (see dotted lines 02 and 3/ of Fig. 2), the angle of one line being greater than that of the other by reason of the fact that the shorter guide A is not arranged directly opposite the center of the other guide but is offset to one side of the center thereof. The manner in which this arrangement of drag guides causes the band to creep is shown in the diagrams. In Fig. 4, the band is shown in full lines at the end of its bodily movement toward the right, while in Fig. 5 it is shown at the end of its bodily movement toward the left. In either of these positions, the band will be arrested in its bodily movcment by the end of the longer guide plate a and then upon further pull on the band by the pickerstick, the leg of the loop that is in the shorter clamp will be drawn through that clamp until the band is arrested by the stop-edge of the guide member 6 of this shorter clamp, in which position the rear approximately corresponding with the angle or the angle y shown in Fig. 2. In these diagrams, the dot-and-dash line a and the dot line a show the band at the extreme of its movement in either direction and under tension of the picker-stick.

It will be observed that the creep or travel of the band is brought about in this particular embodiment of the invention by the difference in the angles a: and y. In the construction shown, the angle m is more acute than the angle 7 Referring to Fig. 4:, it will be seen that. the length of the band that is pulled through the friction guide A Will be greater than the length of the band that will be pulled in the opposite direction when the picker-stick moves to the left, so that the amount of travel or rotation given to the band will depend on the difference between these tw movements. In other words, by reason of the fact that after the bodily movement of the band has been arrested in going in either direction, the side of the band that is clamped in the shorter clamp will have an independent sliding action in addition to the body movement of the band, the band will be caused to gradually creep around and present a new striking surface to the picker-sti ck at each stroke, the essential feature being simply that this final or sliding action of the band in one direction shall be greater than the final sliding action in the other direction. By thus providing this differential sliding action at one side of the band, the band will be gradually pulled around by a. step-bystep action, though, as will be observed. each step forward is partially destroyed. by a shorter step backward.

It will be observed that this form of my invention is not confined to any specific con struction for carrying it into effect. For instance, the angle 9 may be a right angle instead of an oblique angle as shown; that is, the shorter guide may be arranged with a right-hand stop-edge exactly opposite the right-hand stop-edge of the opposite guideplate a; but, in this case, there would be very little, if any, step backward, but simply a practically continuous intermittent travel in one direction, since, in pulling the band to the left, both legs of the band would be arrested practically at the same time.

Many actual tests in working looms have shown that the relation of the vertical stepedges of the two guides must be varied to get the best results, by reason not only of the slight differences in the strokes of dif ferent picker-sticks, but also because of certain differences in the strength of the blows, as well as in the varying thicknesses of bands,,pliabilit v at the laps of the bands,

etc. To obtain this relative adiustability, I make at least one of the guides horizon tally adjustable in any suitable manner. For instance, I may provide the usual hanger n with a slot 0 for horizontal adjustment of the securing bolt 79.

The nature and scope of the invention having been thus indicated and its pre ferred embodiment having been specifically described, what is claimed as new is: p

1. In a picker check device, an, endless check loop and two guides supporting the same at opposite sides of the path of movement of the picker-stick and having stopedges, means being provided whereby said guides exert approximately equal slip-permitting pressure upon the portions of the bands working through them, one of said guides being shorter than the other and set to one side of the center of the longer guide, for the purpose set forth.

2. In a picker check device, an endless check loop and two guides supporting the same at opposite sides of the path of move ment of the picker-stick and having stepedges, means being provided whereby said guides exert approximately equal slip-permitting pressure upon the portions of the bands working through them, one of said guides being shorter than the other and set to one side of the center of the longer guide for the purpose set forth, means being also provided to permit one of the guides to' be bodily adjusted endwisely with respect to the other guide to vary the relative positions of the stop-edges of the guides.

3. In a picker check device, an endless band and two clamp guides supporting the same at opposite sides of the path. of movement of the picker-stick and having stopedges. means being provided whereby each of said guides exerts a slip-permitting clamping pressure on the flat sides of the band to thereby cause a friction drag at both sides of the band, one of said guides being shorter than the other and set to one side of the center of the longer guide, for the purpose set forth.

4t. In a device of the class set forth, a slip-permitting clamp embodying a U-iron, means for attaching it to a lay, a friction plate slidably mounted between the arms of the U-iron, a spring having its ends engaged in openings in the arms of the Uiron, and a bolt and adjusting nuts for clamping it to said spring, the inner end of the bolt being adapted to bear on the outer face of said friction. plate.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

F GORDON COBB,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

